By Teresa Masterson on NBC Philadelphia
Villanova University has canceled a workshop by an often provocative gay performance artist, saying his shows don’t match up with the school’s Catholic values.
Tim Miller tells The Philadelphia Inquirer he was told about the cancellation of next month’s planned workshop on Sunday, and though he says it didn’t come as a big surprise, he told the Inquirer that, “Times have changed” since the era when Villanova staged Angels in America – the Pulitzer Prize-winning play about AIDS.
“We’re in a much more coercive, censorious time,” Miller told the paper.
This is not the first time Miller has been refused for his controversial content. In 1990 the National Endowment for the Arts took away his funding, reports the Inquirer. The Associated Press reports that Miller also has been arrested in the past for demonstrating for AIDS research funding.
In a statement, Villanova said it embraces intellectual freedom and academic discourse but “With regard to the forthcoming residency and performance workshops by Tim Miller, we had concerns that his performances were not in keeping with our Catholic and Augustinian values and mission,” according to the Inquirer.
“Villanova University is an open and inclusive community and in no way does this singular decision change that,” the statement says.
Miller says Villanova’s decision was not “unimaginable.” The 53-year-old will be performing at InterAct Theater in Philadelphia in April and he told the Inquirer that his themes are more political than religious.
He says that he has “never taken on the Catholic Church in my performances. Quite the contrary, I have a rich history of ecumenical dialogue.”
Miller, who will perform at InterAct Theater in Philadelphia April 9 to 15, said his shows focus more on political, rather than religious themes, and he has “never taken on the Catholic Church in my performances. Quite the contrary, I have a rich history of ecumenical dialogue.”
